LUXURY CAMPAIGN: Alpine VIP club shows off its glamorous side

May 01, 2008
by Alex Black

London entrepreneur Harvey Sinclair wanted to launch an alpine VIP members club, Coco, targeting both Londoners and Geneva's wealthy bankers, chalet owners and high net worth individuals who make up 60 per cent of winter footfall at Swiss ski resort, Verbier.

He engaged experiential PR agency LDR LONDON for an international launch campaign.

ObjectivesTo position the club as the first luxury alpine members club. To launch and market a membership scheme. To drive footfall throughout the season. To gain £15,000 revenue from membership during the first season and gain six national newspaper features.

Strategy and planLDR LONDON developed the Coco membership scheme, which involves helicopter transfers from the airport. It then built a database of 3,500 target clients in UK and Europe.

The team brought in leading London mixologists Soul Shakers to create a range of spectacular cocktails, including a large hand-carved ice chalet with Krug cocktail that served eight.

An exclusive story was secured with the Evening Standard to kick off a pan-European PR campaign.

Measurement and evaluationCoco was featured in the Financial Times, The Sunday Times, the Mail on Sunday, the Daily Mail and The Daily Telegraph. Coverage spanned business, travel, style, current affairs, news, diary, social, drinks and features sections, and the club was featured in Conde Nast Traveller, Time Magazine's luxury supplement, and 14 European newspapers, including a cover story in Switzerland's Le Matin in December.

ResultsCoco sold £47,000 worth of memberships within 12 weeks of opening and has been ranked in Vanity Fair's top 10 clubs in the world. The destination has been used for events by Richard Branson and Natalie Imbruglia.

Both are now members, as is resort regular, James Blunt. Tables for winter weekends have been over-subscribed all season. The club is forecast to break even by 2009.